Current trends and themes of oral cancer research: A bibliometric analysis of publications from 2011 to 2022 in prominent oral pathology related journals

This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of oral cancer research published in three leading journals (Oral Oncology, Journal of Oral Pathology and Medicine, and Oral surgery Oral medicine Oral pathology and Oral Radiology) between 2011 and 2022 covering oral pathology. The study identifies publications and citation metrics and evaluates the performance of journals, authors, institutions, and countries as well as identifies the prevalent topics and trends in oral cancer research through an analysis of article titles using the R-studio Bibliometrix package. The USA, India, and China produced the highest number of publications. The annual scientific production of all of the journals in the current study has increased over time, with noticeable peaks in 2013, 2017 and 2020. The study also identifies the most commonly researched topics, such as “potentially malignant,” “lymph node,” “HPV,” “malignant transformation,” and “epithelial dysplasia.” Additionally, a thematic analysis of sliced maps showed changing conceptual structures and themes over the years, with emerging themes like “AI” and “oral microbiome” dominating in recent years. Finally, co-citation and co-authorship analysis were conducted to evaluate the intellectual structure and social collaboration structure of the research. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the evolving research trends in oral cancer. Some specific clusters of research collaboration were observed among certain countries and institutions. The map of oral cancer research is currently leaning towards AI, microbiome and biomarkers.